Man thrown in jail for nearly 1 week after drug test at Toronto Pearson 'wrongfully' finds cocaine in luggage
CTV
A 22-year-old U.S. man travelling through Toronto Pearson airport was forced to spend nearly a week locked up in an Ontario prison after authorities mistakenly thought he was hiding cocaine in shampoo bottles.
A 22-year-old U.S. man travelling through Toronto Pearson airport was forced to spend nearly a week locked up in an Ontario prison after authorities mistakenly thought he was hiding cocaine in shampoo bottles.
Yeremy Cuevas Tolentino, an airline worker from Boston, said he is recovering from the traumatic ending to his week-long vacation to Brazil in April.
“I really want justice,” he told CTV News Toronto in an interview.
Since he works for Cape Air, a small aircraft-carrier based out of Massachusetts, Cuevas Tolentino said he often travels on standby and flies unusual routes. Because of this, he often has to book and cancel multiple flights.
He said he booked multiple flights to get back home quicker after his trip, and chose a route from Sao Paulo to Boston that connected through Toronto Pearson International Airport on April 8.
When he got off the plane in Toronto, Cuevas Tolentino said he had to pick up his bags and go through security screening before his connecting flight to Boston.
But when he reached the U.S. Customs line, he was pulled aside for extra questioning. He said he thought at first it was because he had mangos and oranges in his bag, which he had packed for a snack.
